Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday apologized for controversial remarks he made on Tuesday when he described independence advocates as “idiots.”
In a press release Wu said he was sorry for using the term “idiots” to describe people who seek independence for Taiwan and that he took it back.
His apology, however, came hours after several attempts to defend his remarks.
PHOTO: CNA
Wu said during an interview with the UFO Network on Tuesday: “If you want to talk about unification, nobody will support it. You don’t have the capability to unify [China] and you don’t want to be unified by it. Declaring independence is unnecessary because the ROC [Republic of China] is already an independent, sovereign nation. If you want to found a country with a different national title, it will only create division at home and stir tensions abroad. Only irresponsible people or idiots would want to seek independence [for Taiwan].”
Approached by reporters yesterday morning, Wu at first defended himself, saying what he meant was that the ROC has been an independent state since 1912.
Wu spoke to reporters before attending an event at the National Central Library in Taipei to promote the Act Governing Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟社會文化權利國際公約施行法), which goes into effect today.
He said he firmly believed in the “three noes” principle espoused by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), referring to Ma’s pledge not to discuss unification with Beijing during his presidency, not to pursue or support Taiwanese independence and not to resort to military force to resolve the Taiwan issue.
He said the administration’s position is to maintain the “status quo,” adding that all cross-strait policies must be based on the principle that Taiwan is always the focus and public interest comes first.
Wu said he respected the freedom of those who seek independence for Taiwan and such a right should be protected by the government.
However, as the premier of the ROC, Wu said his responsibility was to safeguard the ROC — not to seek unification or independence.
“It is my fundamental belief that protecting Taiwan means defending the sovereignty integrity of the ROC and the safety and well-being of the 23 million people of Taiwan,” he said.
While some reporters still questioned whether the term “idiot” was too strong, Wu said it was “not good” to focus only on a single word and that what he said referred to two groups of people — those who were “irresponsible or idiots.”
“When I say you are either a boy or a girl, I don’t necessarily say you are a girl,” Wu added.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) panned Wu’s comment and criticized the government for “burying its head in the sand” when it comes to the nation’s sovereignty.
“It is unthinkable that a senior government leader could be so self-defeating. This kind of mentality is completely unacceptable,” DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said.
Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), another DPP lawmaker, said Wu’s statement was discriminatory to all Taiwanese people who view themselves as citizens of a sovereign state and called on the premier to recant his words.
DPP Spokesman Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said it was an indisputable fact that the ROC is an independent, sovereign country and if Wu has any doubt on the country’s status, then he should consider stepping down.
“Since he believes that people who support independence are idiots, does that mean he is the idiotic premier leading an idiotic government?” Tsai said.
Later yesterday, the Government Information Office issued a statement saying Wu considered the words “or idiots” to be “unnecessary words.”
The statement said Wu would like to take back “or idiots” because the term was inconsistent with his “mild” and “harmonious” style.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —